Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extends its ‘promising hope to the people of the North’ by extending a grant aid worth of Japanese Yen 2,298 million for the improvement of central functions of Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH), states a media release from the donor agency.

The Grant Agreement of the project was signed in Colombo between JICA and the government of Sri Lanka.

JTH is the only tertiary care institution in the Northern area which caters to a large population of about 650,000. It is overcrowded due to the lower-level medical facilities in the region having been destroyed by the internal conflict and is not functioning up to the need of the area.

The implementation of this Project is expected to lead to the establishment of tertiary care services in the Northern region, provide access to reliable medical services to the inhabitants in the region, and facilitate overall restoration of healthcare facilities in the region.

The Project covers the construction of facilities to bear the central functions of the Hospital Operation Theater Complex, Central Supply & Sterilizing Department (CSSD), Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Central Laboratory Complex, and Central Facilities for Diagnostic Imaging, procurement and installation of necessary medical equipment.

In addition, three other JICA projects are in the pipeline towards the development of the Northern area. One is a Digital Topographic Mapping Project aiming at updating the topographical database and maps for the entire Northern Provincethrough digital aerial photography. The other two projects will formulate road maps to promote post-conflict rehabilitation in Jaffna and to recover economic activities in the Mannar districts.

JICA is the executing agency of the Official Development Assistance of the Government of Japan.